Chapter 9
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Chapter 9: Where’s the Trust in the Team?
“Leave now!” Lin Feng shouted first.
The team snapped into action, scrambling back toward their original path. But with a sudden roar, the calm pool’s surface exploded. A wall of water over ten meters high surged toward the shore.
“Behind the towering trees!” Lin Feng barked as the wave threatened to swallow them.
The monster-hunting Team moved like clockwork. Everyone dove behind tree trunks. Though You You reacted slower, her speed compensated—she zipped into the woods and pressed against the nearest tree.
The water crashed down, drenching the riverbank before retreating. The Younglings littering the shore vanished, dragged back into the pool by the current.
This wasn’t an attack—it was reclaiming its young.
Before the group could retreat deeper into the forest, an ear-splitting shriek tore through the air. Bushes ahead flattened as if crushed by an invisible force.
“River Beast ahead!” Lin Feng yelled, face paling as he halted the Team.
A hulking black shadow burst from the foliage. Nearly two meters tall with armored scales, it moved shockingly fast for its size. A spiked tail whipped behind it, while a blood-red horn crowned its flattened head. Rows of jagged teeth filled a mouth stretching a third of its body length.
_What kind of mutant crocodile is this?!_ You You gaped. The Younglings looked like regular fish—how’d they grow into this nightmare?!
The enraged River Beast zeroed in on You You, charging her tree with a guttural growl.
_Seriously?! Is targeting me this thing’s racial trait?!_
“You You!” The distant teammates whirled around, Weapons raised as they rushed back.
The beast’s tail lashed. White light flashed across its spikes, sending icy projectiles shooting at the rescuers. They barely dodged in time.
Lin Feng tackled You You, rolling them both clear as monstrous jaws snapped where she’d stood. The River Beast bit clean through the half-meter-thick trunk behind them.
_Crunch._
The tree toppled.
You You stared. _That bite could shred tanks!_
No time to process—the beast lunged again, rancid breath washing over them. Lin Feng dragged her into another desperate roll toward the water, the creature’s teeth cratering the ground where they’d lain.
As the River Beast lifted its head, Lin Feng leaped. His long sword plunged into its glowing red eye.
The beast howled, thrashing wildly.
“Run!” Lin Feng hauled You You up.
She froze mid-step. “What’s that?!”
White light erupted from the wounded creature. Ice-coated spikes sprouted across its body, radiating cold.
“Icy Spikes!” Lin Feng went sheet-white. “When angered, they—”
You You grabbed his arm. “I’ll carry—”
A palm strike to her chest sent her flying backward. “Go!”
_Thwump._ She landed hard ten meters away.
_ARE YOU KIDDING?!_ She scrambled up. _I could’ve outrun it with you!_
Teammates yanked her behind a boulder. Too late—the River Beast’s spikes launched like artillery. Lin Feng stood directly in the deadly rain.
A crimson whip lashed out, snatching him skyward an instant before spikes impaled his spot. He crashed safely by a distant tree.
“Yo, Lin Feng!” A sneering voice rang out. “One month apart and you’re already dragon chow?”
A blue-robed figure perched on a branch, twirling the red whip that had saved Lin Feng. His jade crown glinted as companions chuckled from nearby trees—less rescuers than amused spectators relishing the Team’s plight.
